Reverse DNA
by RealaCarsona
Summary: A continuation of the Season 3 finale. Aneela and Dutch make it back out the Green, the Lady is still undefeated, but before they continue to fight her they have to retrieve their stranded people. Delle Seyah/Aneela
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys, this is just something I was playing around with. It's not quite to my usual standard but it was something I just had fun writing. Let me know what you think?**

"Jon? Jon?"

Eyelids fluttering open at the sound of the voice in his ear, Johnny wearily glances around the metal box they had been trapped in since the cable had been cut.

"Yeah Lucy?" He asked softly, watching the rise and fall of D'avin's chest who was within arm's reach of him, the lack of oxygen having gotten to them all.

"You need to stay away Jon, I can't help you from here, if you fall asleep again then you might not wake up."

There was a sudden crackle on the comm line and then a sharp electronic whine as another comm came online, "Jon?"

He sat bolt upright, "Dutch, is that really you?"

There was a relieved laugh at the other end of the line, "Yeah it's me Johnny, the Lady's soldiers shouldn't be an issue for now so I'm going to get onto Lucy and come and pick you up ok?"

"Dutch it won't work, the airlocks aren't compatible."

He heard a frustrated growl from her before she took a deep breath, "Ok, then I need you to hold on just a little longer, I'm going to tow you to the nearest inhabitable surface and then we won't need compatible airlocks. Will you be ok until then?"

Deliberately ignoring just how thin and pained each breath felt he nodded resolutely, even though he knew she couldn't see it, "We've been in worse spots than this, just move quickly Dutch."

"Anything for you Jon."


	2. Chapter 2

As the door was forced open and fresh air suddenly flooded the compartment, Johnny thought he was seeing double for a moment as Dutch and Aneela both hurried inside, running for their respective people.

Dutch dropped to her knees between the two brothers, checking them were both breathing before laying her head against Johnny's chest in relief.

Aneela was at Delle Seyah's side when they looked over, cradling her in her arms protectively as she whispered in her ear, one hand resting protectively over the other woman's stomach.

"Don't do that again." Delle Seyah told her weakly, "Don't risk your life and not tell me what you're doing."

"You said you trusted me." Aneela murmured, and to the others in the room, the dark-haired woman almost looked hurt.

Sitting up properly so she could cup Aneela's cheek in her hand, recovering more quickly than the boy's due to her Hullen biology, Delle Seyah nodded, "I do trust you, but I also don't want to lose you, I was… concerned for you."

Before Dutch realised he was moving, D'avin had suddenly sat up and had his gun pressed to the back of Aneela's head.

"Stand up now, and don't try anything." He told her, rising with her as she stood, hands held up in front of her passively.

Aneela's eyes flicked to Dutch, filled with amusement, and the message was instantly clear.

 _Are you going to stop him, or am I?_

"D'avin stand down." Dutch ordered, "Leave her alone."

He turned to face her, keeping his gun pointed at Aneela, "You can't be serious? She kidnapped you, this whole war has been about finding and killing her. Now I may not want to kill her for obvious reasons, but you can't seriously want to just let her go to start rebuilding her army."

"Of course, not D'av." Dutch told him, "She's going to help us against the Lady."

Rolling her eyes as she grew bored with the discussion, Aneela twisted and smoothly disarmed D'avin, tossing the gun to Dutch with a smile before re-joining Delle Seyah on the floor.

Sitting cross legged in front of the other woman, she lovingly stroked her fingers across Delle Seyah's stomach, humming as she did.

Gritting his teeth, D'avin looked as though he wanted to make a move towards her, but a hard glare from Dutch pulled him back.

Seeking to diffuse the tension, Johnny cleared his throat, "So can someone explain to those of us who aren't Hullen experts who the Lady is and why she's such a big threat?"

It was Aneela who answered, breaking off her humming but keeping her eyes fixed on Delle Seyah who was listening curiously to what she would say.

"The Lady lives in the green. And she is the head of the Hullen command structure, I recently found out that since not long after Yalena's creation she had been keeping me as a glorified lab rat." She growled furiously, eyes narrowing sharply.

At Delle Seyah's gentle prompting, she took a breath, before continuing in a calmer, more even tone. "She seeks to escape the green and she has her minions working to further that agenda. They believed my research would hold the key to setting her free. But she showed her hand too early. Because I know how to close the door, trap her in the green permanently and remove her ability to communicate with the outside world."

"Then why haven't you done it already?" D'avin asked bluntly, making it clear that he didn't believe for one second that she was any kind of victim in any of this.

"Because I have only just discovered that I was not as in command as I had believed. They took Kendry from me, that was her mistake. It was in searching for her that I found the door."

Johnny titled his head to the side as he looked past Aneela at Delle Seyah who looked just as angry as Aneela did in front of her, "Took you?"

"And did this to me." She told him, waving her hands over her stomach. "Pregnancy is not a choice I ever would have made, human or otherwise."

"But I took her back, along with my ship. And then we transfused every free Hullen on my ship with the slave green. No one controls my ship but me." Aneela grinned proudly, a predatory glint in her eyes.

Delle Seyah chuckled, before pushing away Aneela's hand on her stomach and gesturing for her to help her up.

Patiently, Aneela did as she had asked, rising smoothly and holding out her hand to Delle Seyah, pulling her up with ease.

"Are you tired?" Aneela asked softly, examining Delle Seyah's face curiously, "It's been an eventful few days, you need rest. Let's go home and we can have Gander cook for us. And for the rest of the ship single handed if you want, he'd hate that if he were able to feel anything we don't tell him to."

Smiling fondly, Delle Seyah leaned into Aneela as the Commander wrapped her arm around the smaller woman's shoulders, "I'm fine, but yes, let's go home."

Looking up, they realised that the other three people in the room with them were each making faces ranging from confused to disgusted.

It was Johnny whose face looked most horrified, "This is unsettling, I think this might be the scariest thing that you've ever done Delle Seyah. You can bring back the scheming, manipulative, murderer any time you want. Preferably right now."

D'avin looked equally perplexed, looking between the two of them nervously, as though at any minute one of the other would go on a homicidal killing spree.

It was Dutch, as always, who was left to be the voice of reason. Pushing aside the rather confusing things she was feeling about the sight of her mirror image and Delle Seyah together, she cleared her throat, snapping the boys out of their staring.

"Well if you're going anywhere then we're coming." She told the two of them firmly.

"Are you?' Aneela asked coolly, staring at her unreadably.

"Finish what we started." Dutch repeated, "That's what we agreed before we stepped into the green. We're not done yet, so yes, I am coming with you. And I would give the boys the choice but I already know that they'll be following any way."

"That's true." Delle Seyah told Aneela, an amused smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth, "The entire universe isn't big enough to keep them away from each other for very long, no matter how hard you try to force them apart."

Nodding after a long moment of careful calculation, Aneela waved her hand back in the direction of Lucy, which was just outside the capsule they were all stood in, "Fine then, once we approach my ship I will grant yours access to board it."


	3. Chapter 3

"Commander! You're back!" Bryn cried out in relief as she saw Aneela striding off Lucy, followed closely by Delle Seyah, with their three guests following apprehensively behind them. "When Seyah Kendry ordered our soldiers to surrender we feared the worst."

Frowning sideways at Delle Seyah, who just shrugged her shoulders lightly, unconcerned with the disapproving look she was getting, Aneela hummed under her breath, "The circumstances surrounding that order haven't yet been discussed. But over these last hours, it has become clear that my anger towards Dutch and her people was misguided. The result of steps my father took to protect the both of us from the Lady. As such we will be refocusing our efforts fully on eliminating her."

Bryn bowed her head, "Yes Commander, do you require anything of me this evening."

Exchanging a look with Delle Seyah, who smirked but otherwise said nothing, Aneela smiled and shook her head, "Kendry and I will be retiring to my room and we wish to be left undisturbed. Take these three to rooms suitable for them to stay in and then bring them to me in the morning when they wake. Other than that, the night is yours to spend as you will."

Not waiting for a response, Aneela reached out, entwining hers and Delle Seyah's fingers before gliding off into the ship, leaving Bryn standing opposite the three Killjoys who looked like they would rather be anywhere else than the centre of a Hullen command ship.


	4. Chapter 4

Knocking on the door lightly, Bryn glanced up at Dutch for a moment, before calling through the door softly, knowing that Aneela would hear her, "Commander, I've brought the three Killjoys."

"Come in." She heard, although it was so soft that she doubted than any of the three beside her would have picked up on the words.

Pressing her palm to the panel beside the door, she slipped inside as it slid open, followed by Dutch, who was flanked protectively by the Jaqobis'.

Aneela held up a finger to her lips as they entered, dropping her hand once she was sure they had gotten the message, to brush the hair off Delle Seyah's face, who was curled against her sleeping soundly.

"She insists she isn't tired, but I don't want to wake her until I need to." Aneela explained softly, more to Bryn than the three humans who had followed her inside, delicately pulling her arm out from underneath Delle Seyah before slipping out of the bed itself.

Bryn was at her side automatically, holding up a robe for her to slip into, stepping away as Aneela tied it herself at the waist before holding her hand out expectantly for the glass of green that was placed in it.

Sipping from the glass as she walked, Aneela beckoned them into the next room, where she waved for them to take a seat at a small table as she sank into a chair herself.

"I'm sure you have questions." She told them evenly, "Especially the two of you." She directed at Johnny and D'avin.

"Yeah I have a few." D'avin jumped in quickly, "How about we start with why the Quad's most evil woman is suddenly carrying my child, which also happens to be your child?"

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Aneela leaned forward threatening, unconcerned with the guns that suddenly leapt into Dutch and Johnny's hands.

"No matter what has previously happened between the three of you and Kendry, if any of you harm her from this point on I will kill you. Slowly and painfully. In the end, you will forget who you are, forget what you even did to earn my wrath. The only thought you will be capable of will be the constant yearning for death." It wasn't her words which were terrifying, it was the sweet voice with which she said them, deceptively gentle, whilst her eyes blazed with anger.

Dutch cleared her throat nervously as D'avin paled, shrinking back under Aneela's furious gaze as the boys saw for the first time the raging insanity dancing in her eyes, drawn to the surface by the perceived threat to the woman she loved.

"None of us have any intentions of harming Delle Seyah." Dutch told her calmly, "Our truce with you extends to her, no one's dying today."

"At least not yet." Aneela growled, before her expression shifted to calm and composed, leaning back in her chair, and resting her hands on the table, "As for your question, Kendry was chosen to carry the child because of the rivalry she had with the man who was charged with studying me for the Lady. They hated each other and once they decided to stop hiding the truth from me she was no longer necessary so they used her because she was expendable if the experiment was to fail. It was a bonus to Gander that it would end the power struggle between the two of them."

"Ok." Johnny nodded slowly, "That part I understand, Delle Seyah pissed someone off and they wanted revenge. Tale as old as time, but why you and D'avin?"

Aneela smiled, before exchanging a look with D'avin who was sat directly opposite her, "The abilities you and I have with the green are unique. Your ability with the green allows a child to grow and be carried to term, otherwise Hullen are unable to reproduce. My involvement was unnecessary but it is my belief that they wanted to kill two birds with one stone. Prove Hullen procreation was a possibility and raise a child with my abilities that could be controlled. In the eventuality that they had kept Kendry, I believe that their next move after the child's birth would have been to kill me once I was no longer needed."

D'avin and Johnny still looked confused, but Dutch was nodding in understanding, as it dawned on her exactly what the Lady and her people were aiming for.

"She thinks that you could pull her out of the green in the same way you pulled me out. And if you won't do it…"

Smiling gravely, Aneela nodded, "Then she'll use my child to do it." Before her expression evened out and she looked past them to the doorway through to her bedroom.

They turned as they heard the sound of shuffling feet approaching, to see Delle Seyah rounding the corner wearing a simple nightdress that reached her mid-thigh, yawning as she attempted to run a hand through her tangled hair.

Truly unrecognizable from the bitch queen of the Nine that they were used to, instead she seemed younger and more human, which was ironic considering she was the furthest from human she had ever been.

Pulling out the seat beside her for the pregnant woman, Aneela waited until she sat down before gently pulling her hand away from her hair and setting it in her lap. "Leave it, if you want, I'll call Bryn in to brush it for you."

Delle Seyah shook her head almost childishly, "No, I'm quite capable of looking after myself, I'll do it later."

Aneela stared at her for a moment, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, before sighing resignedly and slipping from the room, returning moments later with a hairbrush in hand.

Standing behind Delle Seyah, she began patiently teasing out the tangles and knots as Delle Seyah leaned back contently, closing her eyes.

"One day, maybe you can just ask for what you really want." Aneela eventually told her softly, unconcerned with the curious looks from the Killjoys on the other side of the table.

"And maybe one day you can believe me when I say I'm not tired." Delle Seyah replied, a hint of irritation to her voice. "You should have woken me up."

"I would have, had the discussion began yielding information that you weren't already aware of." Aneela told her honestly, running the brush through her hair one more time before setting it aside, pressing a tender kiss to the top of Delle Seyah's head before sitting back down beside her.

Dutch frowned as she looked between them, "Do Hullen feel?" She settled on asking eventually.

Delle Seyah glanced over at Aneela, before chuckling as she looked back at Dutch, "Most of them no. There are two types of Hullen. Slave Hullen feel nothing, they exist to obey orders. Free Hullen have some capacity for basic emotions, and the free will to choose their actions."

"Basic emotions?" D'avin waving a hand between the two of them pointedly.

Aneela nodded to Dutch, "I have always been different, you saw it in the memories Papa took from me. The green… didn't work right when I was made Hullen. I have Hullen physiology and a Hullen mind, but I feel in the same way as any human. It's not meant to happen, the plasma perfects or kills, I was left… broken."

"Different, unstable perhaps, but not broken." Delle Seyah cut in quickly, speaking firmly. "And as for my ability to feel still," She continued, "A little of that is age, the older a Hullen gets the more inhuman they become. But a large part of it is that Aneela transfused me from slave Hullen to free Hullen using, among other things, her own plasma."

"Her own plasma?" Johnny asked slowly.

Nodding at him, Aneela smiled, "From my own body, Hullen rarely use their own plasma for anything but I have discovered that it can have unique effects. In this case my plasma passed along the fault in my biology that prevents my body from completing the change, leaving Kendry with my ability to feel as you do."

"Right." D'avin drawled slowly, tilting his head to the side as he stared at Delle Seyah, "So what now? Your invasion's been stopped, what is it that you expect us to do? We're not going to just forget everything you've done because there's something new trying to kill us."'

Dutch shook her head, her voice low as she hissed at him warningly, "D'avin."

"No Dutch!" He shook his head, "How can you be ok with sitting her opposite her like nothing's happened. She killed Pawter!" He growled, pointing at Delle Seyah, "And she killed Alvis!" He pointed at Aneela. "Not ordered someone else to do, not in battle, murdered, with their bare hands! And that's just the beginning, what about-!"

"Enough!" Johnny shouted, slamming his hands down on the table as he stood up, "I hate Delle Seyah more than anyone, but if the Lady is even half as bad as they're saying then we have to at least consider that this may be bigger than us."

The four people sat around the table stared at him openly, stunned.

It was Delle Seyah who spoke, a delicate eyebrow raised as she saw him in a whole new light, "You're right Jaqobis, I don't know you."

Focusing his gaze on her, he shook his head, regarding her coolly, "One day Delle Seyah, you and I are going to be standing face to face with no war, no strange child experiment growing inside you, and no Aneela to protect you. And there's going to be a reckoning. But for now, it looks like we're on the same side."

"Kendry is off-!" Aneela started furiously, but Delle Seyah caught her arm, cutting her off.

"I wouldn't respect him if he didn't mean what he said." She told Aneela softly, "And he's right, one day there will be a reckoning, but until then I am quite safe."

Aneela clenched her jaw as she maintained her angry glare at Johnny, before growling in frustration and pushing her chair away from the table, stalking from the room.

"Well that went as well as was to be expected, she'll sulk for a few hours, but with any luck she'll stop soon enough." Delle Seyah sighed, exchanging a glance with Dutch, "Any other death threats to get out of the way before we go to war again, this time as allies rather than enemies."

Chuckling, Dutch shook her head, "Not from me, I do have a request though."

Tilting her head to the side, Delle Seyah gave her a curious look.

"Aneela seems angry enough to murder Jon in his sleep, if you could stop her from doing that I would appreciate it." Dutch chuckled, as Johnny made an indignant grunt behind her.

Laughing, Delle Seyah inclined her head, "Provided you likewise prevent any attempts on either mine or Aneela's life I will be happy to do just that."

"Deal." Dutch nodded, holding her hand out, which Delle Seyah shook once before slipping from her chair and following Aneela from the room.


	5. Chapter 5

"Where's your evil girlfriend?" Dutch asked Delle Seyah conversationally as she met her in the corridor outside Aneela's room, "I was hoping to speak to her."

Delle Seyah smiled, "When she's stressed she tends to find the largest group of Hullen she can and beats them senseless."

Dutch's eyes widened in surprise, "But they're her own people."

Shaking her head, Delle Seyah beckoned for Dutch to follow her, "And she's an unhinged queen, who never learned to properly process negative emotions. The day I told her Khlyen was dead I came face to face with just how poorly she handles bad news."

"Did she hurt you?" Dutch asked curiously.

It was a moment before Delle Seyah spoke, considering her answer as they walked, "I watched her kill half a dozen Hullen before I even knew what was happening, and then she just disappeared. I cleaned up the blood myself, not by choice of course." She added at Dutch's questioning look.

Taking a breath, she frowned as she kept speaking, "Afterwards I went to find her, and she looked so lost, I mentioned her father again, just to get any response out of her. It backfired marvellously and I ended up with a knife to my throat. Bringing you up was what made her refocus enough to let go of me. Killing you was something to aim for, but the driving energy behind it was Khlyen, or at least that's what I believe."

"When I spoke to her, for the first time, she seemed almost inhumanly calm. Curious, childishly inquisitive, nothing like I'd expected up to then. Until I brought up Khlyen and then she was furious. And then once she remembered who I was to her she seemed saddened at the thought that he didn't trust her. And she thinks that he loved me more, that's why she hates me so much." Dutch explained softly.

"I didn't sleep with her to manipulate her." Delle Seyah said eventually, seemingly out of the blue, before continuing slowly, "I was drawn to her because I saw so many similarities between us. But I didn't realise I loved her until after Gander took me, until she found me again. The fact that she had even come looking was enough for me. But when I saw the lengths she had gone to…"

Dutch looked over when nothing further seemed to be coming from the other woman, "Yes?" She prompted curiously.

Blinking, Delle Seyah looked at her, before realising that she had trailed off, lost in her own thoughts, "I got used to being hated, I got used to playing the game on Qresh, holding onto my power through force. I'd accepted that no one would ever love me. Aneela may be dangerous, and unpredictable, but when she loves, she loves with everything she has. I don't think she knows how to hold anything of herself back. And it surprises me every day that she loves me as much as I love her. Her greatest fear is being alone, and I won't let that happen to her, not again."

"Again?" Dutch asked, before stopping, "No, I already know this part, Khlyen kept her locked in a cube for years, it's why she made me."

Delle Seyah nodded, "It's also why she gets so angry and distrustful when Johnny's around. He's made it quite clear that one day he intends to kill me, she fears losing the only person who loves her. If Johnny ever goes through with his threat, you're going to have to take him and run, as fast and as far as you can, and even then, it might not be enough.

"I'll keep that in mind." Dutch told her, before coming to a stop as they saw Aneela, pacing backwards and forwards across her war room, Hullen corpses lying across the floor at her feet.

She almost backed away instinctively before Delle Seyah caught her arm, shaking her head quickly before letting go and striding confidently into the room.

The Hullen Commander snarled as she turned on the person invading her space, stopping short when she saw Delle Seyah. "Kendry." She breathed softly.

"Aneela." Delle Seyah greeted calmly, before waving her hand at the bodies on the floor, "You're hardly making the ship an inviting place for our guests, you couldn't have at least killed them in the hanger where it's easier to clean up. I know from experience that it's horribly tedious washing blood of this floor."

"It will be Gander doing it." Aneela promised slyly, after a beat.

"Well in that case." Delle Seyah laughed, pulling the other woman into a kiss, "Want to kill a few more?" She asked as she drew back.

Aneela hummed in her throat before shaking her head, "Perhaps later."

Leaning her head against Aneela's shoulder, Delle Seyah whispered softly, "Dutch wanted to speak to you. I would have left you alone otherwise but I'd rather not be hounded by her all morning."

She felt Aneela nod, briefly tangling her fingers in Delle Seyah's hair before releasing her and stepping to the side to look at Dutch. "Kendry, would you have this cleaned up?"

"Of course." Came the easy reply behind her, accompanied by the gentle squeeze of her hand, and then Delle Seyah was gone, off to find Gander presumably.

Holding her hand out in invitation, Aneela beckoned Dutch to follow her, leading her in the opposite direction to the living quarters of the ship, to the hanger.

"What are we doing here?" Dutch asked, attempting to keep suspicion out of her voice but failing pitifully.

With an amused smirk, Aneela crossed to the nearest black root ship and ran her hand across the base, causing a panel to slide open, "I have had many lifetimes to learn many skills, when killing doesn't help calm my mind, sometimes fixing things does. Not often, but it's occasionally worth a try."

Nodding in relief, Dutch leaned against the ship beside her, as Aneela began picking through the wires inside the panel.

"Johnny and D'avin are uneasy, more and more every hour on this ship. I want to suggest moving to the RAC." She told Aneela cautiously, aware that it was likely to incur a less than positive reaction.

Instead she was met with silence, and when she looked over, Aneela seemed to be slowly mulling it over.

"If we were to go to the RAC, I would be imprisoned, or worse. And I fear what would happen to Kendry, her people will be angry with her for her betrayals."

Dutch sighed, "I know, I knew that when I asked, I just don't know what to do. The boys urge me to either double cross you completely or force your hand so we have to go to our home turf. They dislike feeling so completely at a disadvantage."

"And you?" Aneela asked curiously.

"I think that if you were going to kill me you would have already. And I was in the Green with you, I know the threat you, we, are fighting against is real." Dutch told her firmly, "They're sceptical because they have spent these last months preparing to face you as an enemy and now we ask them to redirect their efforts and take it on faith that you are really on our side."

Aneela nodded slowly, considering for a long moment before she spoke, choosing her words carefully, "If you were to contact your RAC and explain to them, could you guarantee safety and protection for myself and Kendry?"

Dutch stared open mouthed for a moment before thinking quickly, "I could try. But I don't lead them, they followed me because they believed in the war I was fighting. They will find this all just as difficult as D'av and Jon do. Probably more difficult."

Sighing, Aneela yanked hard, sparks flickering against her skin as she dropped a bundle of wires to the ground, "Trust once broken can seldom be repaired, especially if it was never had in the first place. You understand that I can't risk our lives on your promise to try."

"I do, but I had to ask."

Before either of them could say anything else, the entire ship suddenly lurched to the side, throwing them across the floor where they landed in an undignified heap.

Stumbling to her feet, Aneela cast her gaze around wildly, until her eyes came to rest on one of the columns of core green running through the ship.

"I didn't expect her to try this again, or at least not so soon." She muttered to herself.

"Try what?" Dutch demanded, but Aneela was already moving, catching hold of Dutch's arm as she did and pulling her along beside her.

They were halfway back towards the central network of the ship when they collided with Delle Seyah, who was being trailed by Johnny and D'avin.

"What's happening?" Delle Seyah asked fearfully as the ship lurched again, only just catching herself in time before she tumbled to the ground.

"The Lady." Aneela told her darkly, before wrapping her arm around Delle Seyah to steady her and continuing on further into the ship, this time taking a path that led deeper and deeper towards the core of the structure.

The room they stepped into was small, and tubes of green were set out along the walls, but what drew the eye was the column in the centre, that pulsed as the green inside it practically tried to shatter its container in the presence of Aneela.

"No!" Delle Seyah shouted, as she realised what Aneela was about to do, "You can't be serious?"

Aneela shook her head, "I've done it before, the day I found you again, she tried to take my ship. I stopped her then, I can stop her now."

"And she's been building her power since then." Delle Seyah argued, "If you go in you might not come back out. I need you, please don't do this."

The three Killjoys watched in confusion, while most of what was happening made little sense to them, the sight of Delle Seyah begging was alarming enough for them to suddenly realise just how high the stakes must be.

They watched as Aneela gave a frustrated growl before gently cupping Delle Seyah's face in her hands, "Do you trust me?" She asked firmly.

The conflict in Delle Seyah's expression was obvious, but eventually she gave a short, sharp nod, "Always."

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Aneela dropped her hands and turned to the core green, gathering her hair up in her hands and draping it over one shoulder as she approached the column.

Plucking what looked like a large silver needle from her boot, she reached back, pushing it firmly into the back of her neck with a sickening squelching noise, which everyone present winced at.

When she pulled it out the needle was coated with her own plasma, which she carefully wiped across the palms of her hands before discarding the needle.

Taking a breath, she plunged her hands into the core green without hesitation.

As they watched, the green inside began to settle, before rising up the column.

But it took an agonizingly long time, and as they watched, Aneela's shoulders began to tremble with the strain.

Delle Seyah stepped closer, wishing that there was something she could do to help, but instead she was forced to watch as a trickle of plasma started bleeding from Aneela's nose.

The three Killjoys watched as she became increasingly distressed, tears pooling in her eyes as they remained fixed on Aneela.

With a gasp, Aneela stumbled away from the column, catching herself against a table, "It's done." She coughed, "She's locked out again, for now."

Knees giving out, she fell, caught by Delle Seyah, who lowered them both to the ground.

Pressing her hand to Aneela's forehead, Delle Seyah shook her head as she felt how feverish it was, "That nearly killed you, you can't do that again."

"She was stronger than last time." Aneela muttered, sitting up slowly as she caught her breath again.

"I don't suppose you'll appreciate me saying, I told you so right now?" Delle Seyah asked softly, holding Aneela close.

The Hullen Commander's eyes narrowed as she grabbed for a nearby table, hauling herself up, before offering Delle Seyah a hand to rise to her feet alongside her.

She still looked as though she was going to topple over, but the colour was returning to her cheeks quickly. "It had to be done." She told Delle Seyah evenly, "Had there been another choice I would've taken it, but we cannot afford to lose my ship. Not yet at least."

It was Dutch who cut in, shaking her head to try and clear the confusion as she stood between them, "Ok, can one of you explain what, the bloody hell, just happened?"

Aneela sighed softly, "Fine, but first I require a drink."


End file.
